The Pros and Cons of Quitting Your Job

After my hilarious departure from the world of full-time teaching, I was considering trying to find a new teaching job in a new district. . . for about 19 seconds. Then I realized that working is not really my cup of tea. It's now been slightly more than 3 months since the new school year started, and I have come up with a (non-) comprehensive list of all the benefits and issues I've encountered since then.

Pros

Probably the best thing about not having my old job is that I am no longer constantly exposed to mold, so I don't have frequent headaches and respiratory problems. Oh wait, there was no mold in that room, even though the last two teachers to occupy it got sick, and several students got sick, and now the room is vacant. That's just an ironic coincidence. Ok, sarcasm concluded. At any rate, I am a big fan of not being always sick. Good stuff.

Another major upside is that I was able to officiate 10-15 more volleyball matches this season since I didn't have a bunch of stupid bullshit meetings that I had to waste my valuable time going to after school. I was also able to work matches up north since I could start my commute before 2:30 instead of having to wait until all the buses got out of the parking lot. Since volleyball > education, more volleyball and less teaching is obviously a good thing.

In general, being underemployed (I like that expression because it makes me sound like slightly less of a drain on society) is much less stressful than teaching. I used to have to wear that stupid Nightguard when I slept because I was so jacked up and stressed that I was clenching my teeth together hard enough to cause damage. Not anymore! I haven't worn that thing in quite a while, and I haven't had a single headache or toothache. Clearly the problem wasn't with my sleeping habits as much as with my working habits. Good thing I took care of that.

Cons

I would guess that people assume the biggest con is that being a sub/being unemployed pays less than teaching. But just barely! Hey-oooooooooo!!!! In all seriousness, a steady paycheck is nice, but not necessary for an enjoyable life. Money is really just stupid green paper.

Another problem is the lack of health insurance. Not for me, but for the state of Massachusetts which thinks it needs to require that I have health insurance for some purpose that I don't really understand. I wonder if there is a way I can file a lawsuit against the state for requiring me to purchase something I don't want. That would be pretty sweet.

But the biggest downside is that I actually liked the people I used to work with. And now their jobs are that much worse since they don't get a daily dose of my awesomeness. So really, everyone loses. Well, me less than them, since I have all those awesome "Pros" from up above and they don't.

In the end, I would say that if you don't like your job, just quit. There's better options out there, and I don't want to listen to your bitching. And I already hide your stupid Facebook posts about how much your job sucks. Nobody cares.

-Jon